Led by singer-songwriter John McCauley, Deer Tick makes its first appearance on Mountain Stage, recorded live on the campus of West Virginia University in Morgantown.

At first, the band's fusion of country-soul, Delta blues, hardcore punk and classic rock earned Deer Tick comparisons to the genre-bending alt-country group Uncle Tupelo. But Deer Tick's latest, Negativity, moves the band further toward straight-ahead rock, drawing influences from Exile on Main Street-era Rolling Stones and The Stooges.

Ian O'Neil plays lead guitar, along with Dennis Ryan on drums, Chris Ryan on bass, and Robbie Crowell on keyboards.